Concentration
by Firerose1300
Summary: Before nationals, Sanada finds time to concentrate. No pairings. Written for Orechibi-sama for the TeniPuri Secret Benefactor Christmas Fic Exchange.


Concentration

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Concentrate_

There is nothing else right now but Sanada and the target. Even the sword in his hands has disappeared. It is him and the straw dummy in an endless black space where he can concentrate. The dummy itself is not important, it's what the dummy represents. It is Sanada's failures and weaknesses and most importantly, his opponent.

It's early, almost two in the morning and Sanada is the only one awake, that's how he likes it. There is no distractions to make him mess up. There is not Yukimura calling his phone to make sure he has the line-up ready, there is not Yanagi calling to inform Sanada of things he took note of during practice, There is no Jackal calling to tell him about Kirihara's newest disaster, there is no Niou calling to annoy him.

The house is still and so is Sanada. He concentrates, waiting for the right moment to strike. It's like tennis, the brief moment where you've just sent the ball flying into your opponents side of the court and you wait for them to make their move. Thinking of tennis causes Sanada's mind to wander thoughts of nationals, Yukimura's health, school, and his team seep into his consciousness. He rouses himself and notices his grip is incorrect. Taking a firm hold on his sword again he adjusts his right hand back to the correct position.

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Keep your form_

He is focused once again on his opponent, Tezuka. He's been waiting to play Tezuka forever and now that the other boy is healed, the field is even, and Sanada can bring his full strength out on the court and know they both have an even chance to win, although he would never admit this. They play on even ground, even though they both know it, they'd never admit it to their teams. Sanada would never tell Yukimura, he respected his captain but, the other boy had some issues especially when it came to dealing with Seigaku.

Sanada goes over everything he knows about Tezuka in his mind from the times when their grandfathers made them play together as toddlers, their first tennis match, the only one Sanada plans on ever losing to him, and now, preparing to face him again after they matured not only their tennis but their sportsmanship. This time Sanada will not cry and yell if he loses, he knows how to take it like a man. He won't lose though, he's prepared too much to lose at this point. On the other hand he knows that Tezuka has matured too, so the win will not be easy for Sanada, he will fight for every point.

Sanada's attention has begun to slip again, this time lost in thought about strategies he can use to defeat Tezuka, anything that he can remember that can help him bring victory to his team. He can almost feel the weight of that heavy gold medal around his neck, hear the cheers of fans and his teammates, he can feel the pride, Rikkai, the kings, with their third consecutive win. His third win, Renji's third win, Yukimura's third win. They know their promise will be kept, they will win. No, he has to maintain focus.

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Focus_

This time Sanada does not see Tezuka in the dummy, he sees the shortcomings of his teammates. Things he wishes he could banish. Sometimes it's so hard to watch his teammates fail when he knows how hard they worked to get to the top. He sees everything together and separate. Everything the doubles, and singles players should have done differently, he wills them way. They are now his enemy, abstract things or physical shortcomings, they assault Sanada's senses.

Yukimura's illness catches his attention first, the hard time that should never have to be mentioned again, but they must. It's a learning experience, they were not careful enough, they underestimated their opponents and they lost. It killed Sanada to tell him of their broken promise. After all the therapy and hard work, Sanada was still worried for his frail captain, it would kill the team if he had a relapse now.

Then there was everything else, Renji's air that kept people away from him, Niou and all his tricks that made it hard to rust him, The way Yagyuu couldn't seem to let the ice around his heart melt, Marui and his dependency on sugar, Jackal and how lately he'd been homesick for Brazil, and Akaya's violent personality that made him the biggest fear of bot only his teammates but also his peers and teammates. That was only scratching the surface though, there were deeper problems that kept them all from really being a team. Sanada sighed, there were things he could help them with and then there were things like these that he couldn't even begin to help them with. He had enough trouble with dealing with other people to have to teach other people social skills.

His heart slightly heavy in his chest, Sanada came back to the reason he was doing this practice, to make himself more confident of their win not, make himself insecure and sick with worries. He removed his left hand from his sword and placed it on his forehead, he was tiered and this practice was making him feel ill, he would have to keep his concentration.

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In _

_Out_

_Everything will be alright_

Sanada finally was able to forget everything he was in perfect concentration. He stood still as a tree, there was nothing to sway him. His eyes were dark and slitted, he saw nothing but a target and waited for the right moment to strike. Even the night is still there is no breeze to blow the wind chimes, nor can you hear the sound of the crickets in the grass like you normally would. It is an unusually silent night, and that is something Sanada is grateful for. He is standing in the middle on a bare wooden room just him and the straw dummy which he will destroy. Outside the world is asleep and so is the house, there is no creak of the floorboards under his grandfather's feet, the soft pitter patter of his nephew, Saskue's feet stopped hors ago when he was put to bed by his mother. He cannot hear the murmur of his parents voices from down the hall nor his brother's jolly laugh in one of the adjacent rooms.

Sanada can hear only his calm breathing and his heartbeat, they both keep a perfect rhythm that he knows is the same tune of the world turning steady and perfect. The sword is substantial in his hands, it keeps him grounded to the earth instead of floating away with his breath. His hold is perfect, from what he can tell. All the years of holding practice swords and now this, constantly more familiar, Katana, has finally paid off. Sanada is at ease in the dojo, it is a familiar location. Having lived in the same house all his life is one of the main contributing factors to that.

Finally he has come to the point where he knows his strike will be on target and perfect. He strikes, the swing hits the dummy, cutting the straw and merely nicking the side of the thick pole it is held u on. He is frustrated but pulls his sword out, sheathing it to fix the dummy's positioning and then pulling it out to wait and strike again, one last time for good measure, and to release the built up stress and pressure.

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Try again_

Once more he goes into his fighting stance like a tiger waiting for the right moment to pounce on his prey. He eyes the dummy again and lets the world shrink away, just the way it should. He begins the process over, identifying his target, what the dummy represents, maintaining focus, and proper posture. If he is able to so those three things in tandem, he will be able to splinter the wood of a thousand dummies, tonight it is just this one. This one to make sure he has made the right decisions and that everything will be alright. He starts by identifying what he is going to destroy and then begins to picture the nationals and winning, just the way it should be. It's a dream that he has had many tomes, Sanada has seen what will happen and he would do anything to get there. Right now, using all his energy and focus is all he can do, and he feels useless. He wishes he could be like Yanagi or one his other teammates, no matter how unsocial they were, they were, girls liked them.

Sanada sighed and let his mind take over, he concentrated and struck. This time his blade struck true and one half of the dummy was flung into a corner of the room. He sheathed his sword, pleased, and cleaned up. Finally after he was done with that, he changed into his night clothes and went to his room. In the sanctuary of his own space he looked at his clock, it was four and the morning and Sanada was exhausted, he would sleep for two hours and then get up and begin his routine all over again. He is pleased with the work he has done to day and the result he achieved while training, he knows that Nationals are close at hand, he is prepared mentally.

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Strike_

_Concentrate_

_Breathe_

_In_

_Out_

_Win_

The cock crows on the morning of their first nationals game yet, Sanada is not in bed. He can be found, completely still. Standing in the middle of the dojo, sword in hand. With only him and his opponent, the straw dummy and he begins to concentrate. Letting the world slip away and seeing just the first team they will slaughter on their way to reach the top. Nothing will keep them from winning, and that's the way it should be. Sanada is prepared, he waits for the opportune moment ad strikes.

He strikes down his opponents one by one until he is facing Tezuka, he knows that it will be his win, it is destined to be. Sanada would not have prepared so much for so long if he knew he was going to lose, it would have been pointless to exhaust himself to the point of collapsing to come this far and lose. Sanada would never forgive himself. He grips his racket like he would his sword, because they are the same thing, a weapon. Instead of Tezuka he sees just a straw dummy, his opponent, nothing more than a practice thing. Something so easily broken and thrown away. Sanada recognizes this and he strikes mercilessly, soon finding that fighting Tezuka is not like the dummy, it is not easy, it is brutally hard and Sanada is close to losing. He pushes himself though, he knows he can win. This is what he has been working for, this is what all the sweat, the tears, and the blood were for. They were to make him ready for the first real challenge in a long time. He almost laughed at how he recognized his own hard effort. He was tiered but the fight was still there when drinking he looked at his team, their eyes each had the same message, win, win, win. It was a mantra that they repeated to keep the goal in sight and now, they could all taste it.

Sanada took a deep breath and gripped his racket, he just had to concentrate, to lose himself in the rhythm. This was the thing he lived for, tennis, he just had to remember everything he had ever learned. He could win this, just play the match like he did when he was learning sword fight int. the most important thing in any match.

_Concentrate_


End file.
